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Cybersecurity program trains individuals with disabilities for success

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Published  June 14, 2023 6:46pm EDT
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

IT program for neurodiverse students

There's a program promising to teach people living with disabilities a lucrative craft, and potentially help them find employment. It's a rigorous cybersecurity class.

ATLANTA - The Bobby Dodd Institute's (BDI) Jerry Sutton will explain people living with different abilities can be overlooked for job opportunities. For the next three weeks, people living with disabilities can apply for a program that promises learning and potential employment.

Program organizers say a 20-week cybersecurity class includes up to 18 months of work readiness training and mentoring.

"We are giving a voice to people who are often not heard," the director of learning and organizational development, Sutton, said.

That's why he and others involved in the BDI's inaugural cybersecurity program can't wait to see where students like Rondarius Jordan end up.

"The computer is our helper and the computer can help us with some resources," Jordan said.

Jordan just completed BDI's appropriately titled Bridge Academy. 

It turns neurodiverse students into certified support technicians and connects them to workplaces that can tap into another candidate pool.

"Not just autistic [candidates], also recent stroke victims, people with PTSD and other physical and mental limitations," Bridge program director Harper Bronson said.

Candidates must be 18, be able to read, write and do math at a 9th grade level and have a high school diploma or GED.

Over 20 weeks, students prepare for the Cisco certification exam. By the program's end, students are paired with mentors with the help of the Watering Seeds Foundation who provide job coaching support.

"Many employers think it'll cost a lot of money on accommodations," Sutton said.

According to the Job Accommodation Network, if a candidate has to have an accommodation at all, it usually costs around $500 for onboarding.

"They'll get someone who is going to be reliable, not job hop, who is going to be very grateful to have a job. $500 is not much for that kind of job stability," Sutton explained.

Starting out, those who complete the program can expect to land a job making $40,000. Should they continue their training, the average cybersecurity analyst brings home about $80,000.

That means a plethora of opportunities can come from one free program.

If you or someone you know might benefit from this program, you can sign up for one of three Tuesday information sessions, or apply now at the Bobby Dodd Institute's website.